Spokeswoman: Rangel Didn't Meet With Father Of The Orlando Shooter
Seddique Mateen
The father of the Orlando shooter has a YouTube channel and Facebook page that he used to talk at length about his political beliefs, which included support for the Afghan Taliban.
Seddique Mateen also posted a number of photos to Facebook featuring himself in the halls of Congress, and in posed photos with Reps. Charles Rangel, Dana Rohrabacher, and Ed Royce.
Early Sunday morning, his son, Omar Mateen, killed 50 people in a Florida gay night club and wounded dozens more in a terror attack that is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
A spokeswoman for Rangel, a New York Democrat, told BuzzFeed News that the congressman was stopped in the hallway for a photo and obliged. There was no formal meeting between Rangel and Mateen, she said.
Rohrabacher, a California Republican, told BuzzFeed News that he did not remember meeting Seddique Mateen, and "probably never saw him again."
But, Rohrabacher said, "It would not surprise me if I had met him if he’s an Afghan activist because I’ve been very active on that issue."
Seddique Mateen
"I have been very deeply involved in numerous activities to try to destroy the Taliban and dealing with various Afghan leaders," Rohrabacher said. "Very few people are paying attention anymore. The fact that I do pay attention does actually bring some of them to my door."
(In videos, the elder Mateen expressed gratitude toward the Taliban, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.)
An aide in Royce's office said that they were checking records, but the meeting appeared to be a brief and inconsequential meeting.
LINK: 50 Killed At Orlando Gay Nightclub In Deadliest U.S. Mass Shooting